Santa Ana Valley High School CyberPatriot Team advances to semifinals

News Release: Santa Ana Valley High School CyberPatriot Team Advances to Semifinals

(February 13, 2018) – A team of students from Santa Ana Valley High School is headed to the Semifinals of CyberPatriot – the Air Force Association’s (AFA) National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

Established by AFA in 2009, the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program is designed to excite, educate, and motivate students toward careers in cybersecurity and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future.

CyberPatriot’s core program – the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition – challenges teams of students across the United States, Canada, and from DoDD schools abroad, to find and resolve cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated environments.

Top teams from the preliminary online rounds earn all-expenses-paid trips to Baltimore, Md., for the in-person National Finals Competition, where students compete for national recognition and scholarships.

At this high school level, the CyberPatriot field is divided into two divisions – the Open Division for public, private, and home school teams, the All Service Division for JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, and Naval Sea Cadet Corps teams. Within these divisions are three skills levels – Platinum, Gold, and Silver.
In all, 5,584 teams registered to compete in CyberPatriot X. Of these teams, 807 teams competed as part of the Open Division – Gold tier. Santa Ana Valley High School is among the 231 teams to advance to the next round from this subdivision.

Led by Coach Minh Vu, the team of students from Santa Ana Valley High School excelled in the CyberPatriot X Open Division qualification rounds, demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking skills, and technical knowledge key to a successful career in cybersecurity. The team’s performance earned it a spot in the Semifinal Round to be held this month.

Following the Semifinals, the top 12 Open Division / 13 All Service Division teams will advance to the CyberPatriot X National Finals Competition in Baltimore, Md.